Calumma globifer

First description:

(Günther, 1879)

Origin of the species name:

The German zoologist Albert Carl Ludwig Gotthilf Günther, then director of the Zoological Department of the Natural History Museum of London (Great Britain), borrowed the name of this chameleon species from Latin. Globus means translated as “sphere”. Günther was alluding to the strongly rounded nasal processes of the males, which appeared to him to be very spherically rounded.

Calumma globifer

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Anjozorobe: -18.443136, 47.988281

Mandraka: -18.911900, 47.920000

Betatao: -18.135412, 47.817993

Ambohitantely: -18.195434, 47.290306

Distribution:

Calumma globifer has its distribution area in the residual rainforests of the central highlands. You can find this chameleon species east of Antananarivo in the area around Mandraka and north of Antananarivo in the forests of Anjozorobe. Both habitats are threatened by slash-and-burn agriculture, and both are hardly protected and thus disappearing every year more.

Appearance & size:

With a total length of 31 to 40 cm, these chameleons belong to the large chameleons. Males have two nose appendages and small, hardly visible occipital loves (only one millimeter). Neither belly nor back or throat has spines, but the whole scalation is heterogeneous. Coloration is varying and has different shades of green with dark stripes or a dark lateral stripe. Male Calumma globifer have a whitish-yellow pattern on their throats.

• Climate table
• More about climate
• UVB indices
• Ground temperatures
• Air pressure

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Average temperature	23	24	23	23	22	19	19	19	20	21	22	23
Minimum temperature	20	20	20	19	18	15	15	15	15	16	18	19
Maximum temperature	27	27	27	27	25	23	23	23	24	25	26	27
Rain days	27	24	26	19	17	18	21	20	15	16	20	25

We have collected the data given above over several years with thermometers and hygrometers at the finding places of the chameleons. "Average temperature" means that values of a whole month have been calculated to one average value per month. For example all measured minimum temperature values of February have been calculated to one average minimum temperature for February. In plain language, this means single peak values of a day may be a little higher or lower than the average minimum and maximum temperatures. It is possible that a location has an average maximum temperature of 29°C, but one day during that month it had 33°C or even 35°C there.

Three examples of a daily course of temperatures in Andasibe in the rainy season can be found below. Both were recorded with data loggers in 2023.

The region around Andasibe with the associated forests of Mantadia, Mitsinjo and Analamazaotra lie in the eastern highlands of Madagascar at altitudes between 900 and 1250 m above sea level. During the day, the temperature may sometimes exceed 25°C, but the thermometer rarely climbs above 30°C, or only in sunspots. At night, temperatures plummet, especially during the dry season. 10° to 15° degrees are the rule.

Humidity in the rainforests around Andasibe is high all year round. During the rainy season it rains extensively every day, sometimes the rain lasts for days. But the dry season is not massively different either, except that it has slightly cooler temperatures overall and reaches lower temperatures at night. It still rains at least every other day. Rain, high humidity and a drop in temperature at night are therefore the central points of Andasibe's climate. In 2023, we measured relative humidity with data loggers on different days in Andasibe in the rainy season, the data can be found below.

Tageszeit = day time, Sonne = sun, Halbschatten = half shade, Schatten = shade

We have measured UVB data with a Solarmeter 6.5 in spring (March, April) at the peak of activity of chameleons in Madagascar. We always measured the values that a chameleon could maximally reach in its habitat.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Morning	23,2	23,4	22,0	22,1	20,5	16,0	16,3	16,5	17,4	16,7	21,2	-
Midday	25,4	25,3	24,5	22,5	20,2	16,5	16,3	17,7	18,3	18,0	21,4	-
Evening	25,5	25,1	25,0	25,3	20,8	17,2	16,1	17,0	19,6	23,0	22,0	-

Between 21 March 2018 and 05 February 2019, we measured ground temperatures in the rainforest of Andasibe and surrounding areas (Analamazaotra, Andasibe, V.O.I.M.M.A. and Mitsinjo) about every other day - the table is the result of these measurements. Only in December no measurements were taken. detailed review can be found here. In total, we took 418 soil temperature measurements and measured an estimated 70 different locations in Andasibe and the surrounding area at a depth of 20 cm.

In 2023, in addition to other climate data, we also measured the air pressure at the locations we visited in Madagascar. The following data is from different days during the rainy season in Andasibe. On the X-axis is the time of day or night. In Madagascar, the day begins around 6 am, and night falls at 6 pm. The Y-axis shows the atmospheric pressure in hPa.

Habitat:

The following pictures show the habitat of Calumma globifer in Anjozorobe and close to Mandraka. This species prefers the residues of intact rainforest in both regions and loves areas with old, big trees and big branches. In secondary vegetation, you can only find them close to Mandraka, and there may be only due to the ongoing slash-and-burn agriculture of the surrounding former forests. They like mossy branches, twined lianas and mostly climbs in the crowns or at least above your head.

Here are some 360° pictures from Anjozorobe-Angavo. With the mouse, you can rotate in all directions. If you click on the Theta logo, the pictures open in an enlarged view in a separate window. There is also the possibility to execute the images in full-screen mode. Have fun watching it!